Vaporizing apparatus for producing selenium rectifiers



Oct, 23, 1956 Original Filed March 22, 1951 C. S. SMITH VAPORIZINGAPPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SELENUM RECTIFIERS 4 Sheets-Sheet l c. s. sMn-H2,767,682

VAPORIZING APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SELENIUM RECTIFIERS A oct. 23; 1956 v4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 22, 1951 INVENTOR. C/eVe/ondScudo/er `Sm/'vf/v BY 1 C. S. SMITH Oct. 23, 1956 VAPORIZING APPARATUSFOR PRODUCING SELENIUM RECTIFIERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed March22, 1951 Oct. 23, 1956 c. s. sMlTH l 2,767,682

VAPORIZING APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SELENIUM RECTIFIERS Original Fil`edvMarch 22, 195] 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. C/e Ve/cJnd JcUoo/ermi 1%United States Patent O VAPORIZING APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SELENIUMRECTIFIERS Continuation of application Serial No. 217,032, March '22,1951. This application June 26, 1953, Serial No.

21 Claims. (Cl. 118-49) This invention relates generally to apparatusfor producing blocking cell devices and more particularly to apparatusfor evaporating the semiconducting material on a conductor base inmaking up blocking cell devices.

This application is aV continuation of my application Serial No.217,032,filed March 22, 1951, and which is now abandoned. The disclosure in thepresent application is the same as that in the former application, andthe claims attached lie-reto in addition to those formerly allowed aremy original invention.

The principal object of this invention isI the provision of apparatusfor evaporating a semiconducting material such as selenium on aconductor base such as aluminum. This invention contemplates theprovision of an annular chamber which can be evacuated and in which alarge sheet of the conductor base metal can be mounted for rotation toreceive a series of layers of the semiconducting material deposited byevaporation over the full width of the sheet under controlledconditions. Heaters are provided to control the temperature of the sheetand the deposits thereon and other heaters are provided to control thetemperature of the evaporators. This device permits accurate control ofthe speed and direction of rotation of the sheet and the speed may beretained constant. This variable control of speed is obtained by a dualmotor drive through a differential gearing where vthe motors themselvesare variable in speed and direction of rotation and a-re effectivesingly or in combination when driving through the differential gearing.The rotating conductor base sheet is adjustable relative to theevaporator to vary the space through which the vapors travel indepositing on the sheet. This adjustment may be obtained two ways, byraising or lowering the evaporator or by changing the relative positionof the shaft bearing which supports the rotary frame that carries thesheet. The evaporator may also be leveled or tilted to provide a uniformdepth of selenium along the length of the evaporator to produce uniformvaporation along the evaporator.

By employing large area sheets, which are subsequently punched andsheared after the blocking cell has been produced thereon, an increasedproduction is obtained at lower costs, by reducing or otherwisecontrolling the spacing of t-he vaporizing aperture to the conductorbase a materially less degree of vacuum is required. This is animportant feature of this invention.

By controlling the speed of rotation and the rate of evaporation one cancontrol the thickness of the layers and composition. Due to the uniformrate of rotation,

composition is uniform in the direction of rota-tion. By suitablelateral adjustment of temperature of the conductor base, good lateraluniformity is also achieved.

Any desired thickness of the semiconducting deposited layers may bemade. The layers may be made thick by reducing the speed and any numberof layers may be applied. When using selenium these layers arepreferably vdeposited in black amorphous or vitreous form and each layermay be heated to convert it to crystalline form be- 2,767,682 PatentedOct. 23, 1956 fore the next layer is deposited. Two or more series ofselenium layers are preferably applied in vitreous form.

Other objects and advantages appear in the following description andclaims.

The accompanying drawings show, for the purpose of exemplication withoutlimiting the inven-tion or claims thereto, certain practica-lembodiments of the invention wherein:

Fig. l is the view in vertical section of the apparatus comprising thisinvention.

Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig.` 3 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus and the exhaust pumpingsystem.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of an evapora-tor with parts brokenaway.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detailed plan view of a valve controlled seleniumevaporator.

Fig. 7 is an end View of the structure shown in Fig. 6.

The apparatus for producing blocking devices as shown in the drawingcomprises a vacuum chamber which is constructed of two bell members 1and 2, the first of which is stationary and the second is' mobile. Thestationary bell member consists of a cylindrical portion 3 and a disk orhead portion 4 welded together and to the heavy metal ring 5 bolted tothe upright beam support 6 which is braced by the angle irons 7. Thesupport and the brace 7 are mounted on and secured to the parallel trackmembers E which extend outwardly from the bell to support the outer bellmember 2 by the rollers 10. The outer bell member 2 comprises thecylindrical member 11 and the head member 12 and is merely a hollowbellshaped member can be teles'coped over the inner bell member 1 andhave its rim seal against the annular ring plate 5 as indicated at 13.The outer bell member 2 may b'e of the order of six feet in diameter andapproximately three and one-half feet deep. y

The conductor base member 14 which is preferably an aluminium sheet maybe of theorder of 371/2 wide and 208 long. For convenience this sheetmay be divided into two sections, each measuring 104 long or intosmaller sheet-s. if desired. The sheet 14 isy wrapped around two similarhoops 15 and 16 which are spaced apart. Each hoop 15 and 16 carries thesheetsY 14 spaced from the line 5-5 of the inner bell 1 as shown at 17to allow for expansion and contraction of the sheets. The hoops 15 and16 are made of channel irons with the channel facing toward the axis ofthe device. The channel hoop 16 is mounted on a series of rollers 20rotatably mounted on outwardly extending stub shafts secured to the ring5. This rotary support holds the ring 16 in position relative to itsaxis. The hoop 15 is secured to the outer perimeter of the disk wheel 21which .is welded to the hub' 22 at its center. This conductor platesupport is referred to as the frame 18. The hub 22 is slipped over andkeyed to the hollow shaft 23 which is rotatably mounted on the spacedbearings 2.4 in the housing 25. Thus the frame 13 is secured relative tothe hollow shaft 23.

The stationary head member 4 has an enlarged opening therein to which issecured by welding the disk 26. The axis of the disk 26 is approximatelyone inch and a half above the axis of 'the inner bell member 1. A angecomponent 27 ofthe shaft housing 25 is attached to the disk 26 by thebolts 28. The bolts 28 may be secured in bolt holes lying in either oftwo circles, one of which is offset one-quarter of an inch and the otherthree-quarters of an inch from the axis of the component disk 27. Thusthe shaft 23 can be located above the axis of the inner bell member '1by any of the following distances; threequarters of an inch, one andone-quarter of an inch, one

and three-quarters of an inch and `two and one-quarter inches.` Fineradjustments can be achieved between the three-quartersinch and two andone-quarter inch variation by rotating the member 27 to anyof six`positions between 4the maximum up and down locations for either of thebolt circles. This transverse adjustment of the disk 27 that carries theshaft 23 and the frame 18 permits one to obtain diterent clearancesabove and below the frame 18 for applicators of diterent sizes. Thecomponent disk member 27 is sealed to the disk 26 by means of thesealing gasket member 30, which is set in a circular groove in the diskmember 27. The innerface ofthe disk 27 is machined `to receive the `ballbearing race 31 which supports one of the bearing `members 24 and `whichsupports the shaft 23 within the housing 25. The space between the shaftand the housing, as indicated at 32, is sealed at either end thereof.One seal, as indicated at 33, is on the inner end of the housing,whereas the other seals indicated at 34 and 35 are in tandem to eachother with respect to the space between the telescopic belllhousiugmembers. Thus three seals are provided between the atmosphere and theannular chamber which `is; indicated at 36 between the two bellhousings. The space 32 within the housing surrounding the shaft 23 isalso filled with a vacuum pump oil to insure a vacuum and to prevent airfrom entering the vacuum system. The seals 34 and 35 are placed intandemand the space between these seals is pumped to a rough vacuum byconnecting `it directly `to a roughng pump such as indicated at 37.

The rotary `frame 18 is driven by rotating the shaft 23 with thecombined action of the motors 40 `and 41 together with the differentialgearing 42 'connected intermediate ;of said motors. The motors 40` and41 are mounted on suitable supports in the stationary inner bell member.The motor 40 may be a three-phase, four-speed induction motor with noload speeds of approximately 1800, 1200, 900 and 600 R. P. MJ This motoris provided with a pinion 43 that meshes with the` gear 44. The pinionis provided with ve teeth and the gear 44 has two hundred teeth. Thegear 44 has secured thereto a beveled gear 45 and therefore rotates at aspeed one-fortieth of the motor speeds as hereinbefore stated.

The motor member `41 may likewise be a three-phase, four-speed motorsimilar to the motor 40 and is provided with a pinion 46 having sixteeth and a gear which in turn is connected to the gear` 47 having 180teeth.` A beveled gear 48 issecured to the spur gear 47 and thereforerotates at one-thirtieth of the motor speeds or at an R. P. M. of 60,40, l30 and 20. Each of the gears 44 and 47 is rotatably mounted on thebearings 50 which are in turn mounted on the shaft 23. The beveled gears51 and 52,

which mesh with both of the beveled gears 45; and 48, are free to rotateon the radial shafts53 and 54 which are in turn secured to the hub 55that is keyed to the shaft 23 as indicated at 56.` The shaft 23 andconsequently the conductor base 14 are thus rotated at a speed ofonehalf the algebraic sum of the speeds of the beveled gears 45 and 48.A switch is provided to permit the selection of any ofthe four speedsfor forward and reverse for either of the two motors. There is alsoprovided a means for passing `direct current through the motor windingsfor obtaining a virtually zero speed for either motor. The shaft speedsmay be obtained from a range of one R. l. M. to 30 R. P. M. 1in preciseand minute steps. It is important in this invention to maintain not onlya uniform speed, but a predetermined speed which will enable one toestablish the actual thickness ofthe layer as it is being applied. In`other words, the slower the speed the thicker the layer as applied atany one time and the thickness of the layers may be adjusted from one`phase of the deposit cycle to another.

As a typical example; one may employ a speed of approximately five R. P.M. in an evaporation period of time of twenty` minutes, and thus obtaina series of one hundred layers. By` selecting a slower speed one canincrease the thickness of each of the layers or by increasing the speedof the rotating sheet, one may increase the number of layers butdecrease the thickness of each layer. Thus the exact control may be hadof the selenium deposits.

Two sets of selenium evaporators 57 and 58 may be provided in eachchamber; one set at the bottom to coat the outer surface of the plate 14and the other set at the top to coat the inner` surface of the plate 14or to coat one surface of twosheets at one time. Evaporators are shownherein 'out the selenium layers could be sprayed or otherwise applied astaught in the prior art. The use of the term applicatorinthe claimsincludes evaporating as well as other diterent'modes of applying theselenium as the plate or plates are being moved.`

The selenium evaporators `57 and 58 are cradled in steel supportchannels 59 attached to disks 60 which are bolted over a six-inchdiameter hole in the ring 5 and sealed by rubber gaskets 61 in thecircular grooves 62 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Each evaporator consists of a long stainless steel semicylinder` 63closed at the top by the cover member 64 which is provided with theuniform slot opening 65 extending the full width of the evaporator. Eachof the cvaporators is provided with a plurality of radiant heaters 66,each of which has an exterior quartz tubing 67; that contains a closedpacked coil of heater wire 68. The heaters 66 extend `the entire lengthof the evaporators. Shields 69 surround the semicylinder 63 to reducethe heat from the evaporator.

The evaporator can be adjusted to level the selenium thickness thereinby four adjusting screws 70 attached to the angles 71. lt may be notedthat the evaporators are so tilted that the surface of the evaporator istangent to the rotating plates 14 which are to receive the selenium.This permits a minimum free path for selenium to travel which may be oneinch or less and .permits successful deposition at pressures in theorder of, or at least as high as, ten microns of mercury. IThis may becompared to the pressure of the order of one-tenth of a micron requiredby other vacuum methods wherein the selenium must travel for distancesof many inches or as far as l2 inches or more from the evaporator to theconducting plate.

The sheets 14 are heated by two main radiant heaters 72 and by a myriadof auxiliary radiant heaters 73 which are spaced at equal intervalsalong a line parallel to the axis of rotation outside the `framecarrying the plates. There may be as many as twenty-four or more ofthese heaters distributed between the ends of the radiant heaters 72.

All of these heaters may be independently controlled by a suitableapparatus such as thermocouples for each heater engaging or mountedadjacent to the sheets 14 aligned with its corresponding heater toprovide a uniform temperature across the width of the sheet. The controlwires of the thermocouples will pass through the hollow shaft 23 wherethey may be connected exteriorly by means of slip rings not shown tosuitable control apparatus.

The selenium deposited by this apparatus is tirst mixed in batch formand it is preferable to employ a high concentration of halogen in onebatch and a low concentration of halogen in another batch of seleniumand place the same in each of the two evaporators 57 and S3.` The sheets14 are attached to the periphery of the frame. The batches may consistof amounts such as a thousand grams of concentrated halogen-seleniumwherein the concentration is about one atom of halogen to two thousandatoms of selenium and which has been melted and held molten and is thenpoured through a heated funnel into the evaporator 57. The secondselenium batch may consist of approximately grams of selenium containingone halogen atom to 20,000 selenium atoms and is similarly poured intothe evaporator 58.` Air `jets are inserted in the space between theevaporators and the support members and the air is turned on so as tocool the selenium rapidly enough to keep it in the black vitreous form.

When the selenium evaporator is sufficiently cool the air is turned oifand the air nozzle is removed and elecltric power is applied to theheaters for the purpose of heating the plates 14 from room temperature.

As shown in Fig. 3 the vacuum chamber 36 is connected by the pipes 74 tothe valves 7S, 76 and 77; the valve 75 being connected directly to theatmosphere whereas the valves 76 and 77 are directed to the exhaustingequipment. The outer bell member 2 is telescoped over the inner bellmember 1 and sealed in place so that the annular chamber 36 retains aconductor base plate on the' frame for rotation. The seleniumevaporators have beenfilled with the proper amount of selenium to bedeposited and the evaporator heaters are connected for supplyingelectric current thereto and for regulating the temperature conditionsunder which the selenium is evaporated.

When one bell member is closed over the other bell member and sealed onthe annular ring 5, the frame 18 is rotated and the valve 75 is closed,thus shutting ofrr thelchamber 36 to the atmosphere and valve 76 is opento permit the mechanical vacuum pump 37 to partially reduce the airpressure within the chamber 36. At this time heat is supplied to theplate heaters and after the closing of the valve 7S the pressure isreduced to severalhundred microns of mercury and the valve 76 is closed.Valves 77 and '78 are both opened to connect the vapor pump 79 topumping the vacuum system with the mechanical pump backing up the vaporpump. Under these conditions the selenium is then vaporized anddeposited on the sheet 14.

A mechanical holding pump Sil! is connected through a normally openvalve 81 tomaintain a vacuum on the vapor pump 79 when the equipment isidle or when the roughing pump 37 is pumping down the system.

` The selenium evaporators 57 and 58 may be provided with a controlvalve S2 shown in Figs. 6 and 7 to regulatethe degree of opening of theslot 65 or to close it oft entirely' and prevent evaporation vof theselenium mix therein. The valve 82 is a at plate that is Wider andlonger than the slot 65 which it covers. A series of iinger springs 83is attached to the sideof the evaporator and overhangs the cover 64 butis short of the slot 65 and bears against the top surface of the valveto hold it down against the cover. As shown'inFig. 6 the valve is closedand has a hole 83 in one endy and the hole 84 invits other end. Bothproject beyond `the ends of the evaporator. A pair of downwardlyprojecting lugs 85 havev aligned bearings to receive the shaft 86 whichextends throughthe plate 60 to beyond the other end of the evaporator.The shaft 86 has the upwardly projecting a'rmv87 secured thereto whichextends through the hole S4. A hollow sleeve shaft 83 is journaled onthe shaft 36 and has the upwardly extending arm 8,9V attachedthereto.This arm extends through the hole 83. The concentric shafts extendthrough the sleeve bearing 90 sealed in the plate 60. rlhus the bearingextends beyond the plate to provide a seat for the hose 91, the otherend of ywhich is fastened to the annular seat on the hub '92 of theoperating lever 93. The hub 92.has anotherannular seat to receive thehose 94 which is likewise sealed on the hub 95 of the operating leverA96. Thus each operating lever is sealed relative to the vacu- Umchamber.l

By simultaneously moving both levers 93 and 96 counterclockwise asviewed in Figs. 6 and 7, the arms 87 vand 89 slide the valve 82 back ofthe slot but keep the valve in alignment with the slot. The degree ofopening of the valve in conjunction with theheatrapplied to the seleniumdetermines the rate of evaporation of the selenium vfrom the bowl v63.Bycontrolling the extent of the valve opening, the temperature ofevaporation andthe speed of rotation ofthe sheet of conductor material,one may lcontrol the number of layers deposited, their thickness and thetotal amount of selenium deposited on either or both sides of the plate.lt' there are two plates mounted back to back then a deposit is onlymade on .a single side. if a single plate is mounted in the machine andboth sets of evaporators are operated, then selenium is evaporated onboth sides of the plate.

If one wishes to vary the amount of selenium-from one side of the plateto the other, then one operating lever 93 or 9e may be moved fartherthan the other and the slot opening will thus be wider at one end thanat the other. This ycontrols the rate of evaporation and that side ofthe sheet opposite the widest slot opening will have a heavier depositthan that part of the sheet opposite the narrowest slot. Yet the numberof layers over the whole plate would be the same. Such a gradation inthe selenium deposit would have special application and in mostinstances the slot is kept uniform throughout its length.' Under thesecircumstances the operating levers 93 and 96 can be locked or tiedtogether so that they may operate in unison.

I claim:

l. A material depositing apparatus comprising yan inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an 'annular sealing means between said members to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, a frame movably mountedabout an axis in said annular chamber, motor means to rotate said frame,attaching means to removably secure material receiving means on saidframe, and an evaporator means having a passage opening into the chamberadjacent said frame to direct a vapor of material onto said materialreceiving means while the latter is moving to deposit a series oflaminated layers of said depositing material on said material receivingmeans.

2'. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an annular sealing means between said members'to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, pump means connected tosaid chamber to reduce the pressure in said chamber, a frame movablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, variable speed motormeans mounted adjacent one of said shell members and connected to movesaid frame in said chambei", attaching means to removably securematerial receiving means on said frame, and an evaporator means having apassage opening into the chamber adjacent said frame to direct vapors ofmaterial onto said material receiving means, while moving to deposit aseries of laminated layers of said depositing material on said materialreceiving means.

3. A semiconducting material depositing apparatus comprising an innerand an outer Shell member detachably mounted relative to each other intelescopic relation and having substantially coextensive adjacentannular surfaces, an annular sealing means between said members to forma sealed annular chamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, aframe movably mounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor meansto rotate saidframe, attaching means to removably secure materialreceiving means on said frame, an evaporator means having a passageopening into the chamber adjacent said frame to direct a vapor ofsemiconducting material onto said material receiving means while thelatter is moving to deposit a series of laminated layers of saidsemiconducting material on said material receiving means, and acontrolled heater means in said annular chamber effective to heat thematerial receiving means and the deposits thereon.

4. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative 4to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, a frame; movablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor means mountedadjacent one `of said ing to deposit a series of laminated layers ofsaid depositing material on said material receiving means, and acontrolled heater means mounted adjacent said evaporator and effectiveto heat and vaporize the depositing material 1 in said evaporator.

5. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent` annular j surfaces, pump means connectedto said chamber to reduce the `pressure in said chamber, a framemovahly` mounted in said annular chamber, variable speed motor meansmounted adjacent one of said shell members and connected to move saidframe about an axis in said chamber, attaching means toremovably securematerial receiving means on said frame, andan evaporator means having` apassage opening into the chamber adjacent said frame for directing theescape of vapors across the material receiving means while moving todeposit a series of laminated layers of depositing material across saidmaterial receiving means.

6. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outer bellmember detachably mounted relative to each other in spaced telescopicrelation, an annular sealing means between said members to seal themrelative to each other adjacent their open ends to form an annularsealed chamber between their adjacent surfaces, a shaft extendingthrough and journaled in the closedend of the `inner bell and sealedtherewith, variable controlling motor means mounted within the innerbell and connected to move said shaft, an arcuate frame mounted on saidshaft for rotation in said sealed chamber, attaching means to removablysecure a material receiving means on said arcuate frame, an evaporatormeans for a deposition material having apassage with a slot opening intosaid chamber for the full width of said material receiving meansadjacent thereto, and adjusting means to orient said slot with itsopening normal to a tangent of the curvature of the material receivingmeans on said arcuate frame.

7. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and anouter bellmember detachably mounted relative to each other in spaced telescopicrelation, an annular sealing `means between said members to seal themrelative to each other adjacentthcir open ends to form an annular sealedchamber between their adjacent surfaces, a shaft extending through and`journaled in the closed end of the `inner bell and sealed therewith,motor means mounted within the inner bell and connected to move saidshaft, an arcuate frame mounted on said shaft for rotationin `saidsealed chamber, attaching means to removably` secure a materialreceiving means onsaid arcuate frame, an evaporator means for adeposition material having a passage with a slot opening into saidchamber for the full width of said material receiving means and closelyadjacent thereto, and adjusting means to tilt said evaporator tomaintain the deposition material with auniform depth in the evaporator.

8. A material depositing apparatus comprising a vertically disposedsupport, an annular face on said support,

an inner bell member having its open end mounted on said support andsealed with said annular face, an outer bell member mounted to be guidedover the inner bell member in telescopic relation and detachably sealedagainst said annular face to produce a sealed annular chamber betweenthe adjacent surfaces of said bell members, a sealed shaft extendingthrough and rotatably supported in the closed end of the inner bellmember, motor meansto rotate said shaft, a frame mounted on said shaftfor rotation in said annular chamber, means for mounting a conductorbase plate means on said frame, and an evaporator means for asemiconducting material having a slot opening within the annular sealedchamber closely adjacent the conducting base plate means to dischargethe vapors of the semiconducting material over the` surface of saidconductingbase plate means While revolving.

9. A `material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, a frame revolvablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor means to rotatesaid frame, attaching means to removably secure material receiving meansarcuately on said frame, and an applicator having a passage opening intothe chamber adjacent said frame to direct material onto said materialreceiving means while the latter is moving to deposit a series oflaminated layers of depositing material on said material receivingmeans.

10. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and anoutershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, a frame revolvablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor means to rotatesaid frame, attaching means to removably secure material receiving meanson said frame, an applicator having a passage opening into the chamberadjacent said frame to direct material uniformly across the surface yofthe material receiving means while the latter is moving `to deposit aseries of layers thereon, and means to control the amount of depositionmaterial released by the applicator.

1l. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and anoutershell member detachably mounted relative to each other intelescopic relation and having substantially coextensive adjacentannular surfaces, an annular sealing means between said members to forma sealed annular chamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, aframe revolvably mounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motormeans to rotate said frame, attaching means to removably secure materialreceiving means on said frame, an applicator having a passage openinginto the chamber adjacent said frame to direct material uniformly acrossthe surface of the material receiving means while the latter is movingto deposit a series of layers thereon, and heater means and valve meansmounted on said applicator to control the amount of deposition materialreleased by the applicator.

l2. A material depositing apparatus comprising `an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation and having substantially coextensive adjacent annular surfaces,an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealed annularchamber between their adjacent annular surfaces, a frame revolvablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor means to rotatesaid frame, attaching means to removably secure material receiving meanson said frame, an evaporator having a passage with a slot opening intothe chamber adjacent said frame to direct a vapor of material onto saidmaterial receiving means while the latter is moving and valve meanscontrolling said slot to Vregulate the amount of deposition materialreleased along the length of said slot to control the thickness of thelaminated layers from one portion to another of the surface of thematerial receiving means.

13. A material depositing apparatus comprising a vertically disposedsupport, an annular face on said support, an inner bell member havingits open end mounted on said support and sealed with said annular face,an outer bell member mounted to be guided over the inner bell member intelescopic relation and detachably sealed against said annular face toproduce a sealed annular chamber between the adjacent surfaces of saidbell members, a sealed shaft extending through and rotatably supportedin the closed end of the inner bell member eccentrically thereto, motormeans connected to drive said shaft, a frame mounted on said shaft forrotation in said annular chamber, means for mounting a conductor baseplate means on said frame, and an evaporator means for a semiconductingmaterial having opening means within the annular sealed chamber closelyadjacent to both sides of conductor base plate means to discharge thevapors of the semiconducting material over the surface on both sides ofsaid conducting base plate means While revolving.

14. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation, an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealedannular chamber between their adjacent surfaces, a frame revolvablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor means to move saidframe in either direction and at different speeds, attaching means toremovably secure material receiving means on said frame, an applicatorhaving a passage opening into the chamber adjacent said frame to directmaterial onto said material receiving means while the latter is movingto deposit a series of laminated layers of said depositing material onsaid material receiving means, and speed adjusting means effective onsaid motor means to change the speeds thereof during the application ofthe deposition of material to vary the thickness of the layersthroughout the deposition period.

15. A material depositing apparatus comprising an inner and an outershell member detachably mounted relative to each other in telescopicrelation, an annular sealing means between said members to form a sealedannular chamber between their adjacent surfaces, a frame revolvablymounted about an axis in said annular chamber, motor means to rotatesaid frame in either drection, attaching means to removably securematerial receiving means on said frame, an applicator having a passageopening into the chamber adjacent said frame to direct material ontosaid material receiving means while the latter is rotating to deposit aseries of lamin ated layers of said depositing material on said materialreceiving means, means to vary the speed of the motor means to changethe thickness of the layers deposited, and controlled heating meanspositioned within said chamber to treat each layer after it has beendeposited and before the next succeeding layer is applied.

16. A material depositing apparatus comprising a chamber, a support, anannular frame revolvably mounted on said support to rotate about ahorizontal axis in said chamber when the latter is closed, pump means tolower the pressure in the chamber when closed, means to rotate saidannular frame, attaching means on said annular frame to detachably holdmaterial receiving means on said annular frame, an applicator having itsdischarge in said chamber to deposit material onto said materialreceiving means while the latter is carried in a circular path by therotation of said annular frame, and controlled heater means mounted insaid chamber in close proximity to the material receiving means on theannular frame to heat treat the layers deposited thereon.

17. The structure of claim 16 which also includes speed adjusting meanseifective togpchange the speed of rotation of said frame duringtheapplication of material to said material receiving means to controlthe thickness of the layers deposited on said material receiving means.

18. A material depositing apparatus comprising, a support, a largeannular rotary frame revolvably mounted on said support to rotate abouta horizontal axis, fastening means to detachably secure materialreceiving sheet means to the annular frame, the material receiving meansencircling the annular frame in cylindrical form, means to rotate saidannular frame torevolve said cylindrical sheet means in a circular path,and applicator means having a discharge mounted inside and outside thecylindrical sheet means while the latter is carried in a circular pathby the rotary annular frame to deposit a series of layers on bothsurfaces of the cylindrical sheet means, said frame being suhcientlylarge to shape the material receiving means in cylindrical form with aradius that will prevent dislodgment of the deposited material when thesheet means is reilexed hat.

19. A material depositing apparatus comprising a chamber, a support, alarge annular frame revolvably mounted on said support to rotate about ahorizontal axis in said chamber when the latter is closed, pump means tolower the pressure in the chamber when closed, drive means to rotatesaid annular frame, attaching means on said annular frame to detachablyhold material receiving means flexed in curved cylindrical form on saidannular frame to maintain its surface at a uniform distance from theaxis of rotation of said frame, and a vapor applicator having itsdischarge portion in said chamber closely adjacent said materialreceiving means to deposit material thereon while the latter is carriedin a circular path by the rotation of said annular frame, said framebeing suiciently large in diameter to prevent dislodgment of thedeposited material when said material receiving means is removed andflattened.

20. The structure of claim 19 characterized in that said applicator is aboiler, the temperature of which is regulatable to control thegeneration of a vapor, and the boiler discharge is mounted to depositthe vapor on the material receiving means while the latter is carried ina circular path by the rotation of said annular frame.

21. A material depositing apparatus comprising inner and outer tubularmembers forming a closed annular chamber therebetween, pump means tolower the pressure in said annular chamber when closed, a large annularrotary frame revolvably mounted to rotate in said annular chamber abouta horizontal axis, fastening means to detacliably secure materialreceiving sheet means to the annular frame, the material receiving sheetmeans encircling the annular frame in cylindrical form, means to rotatesaid annular frame to revolve the cylindrical sheet means in a circularpath, and applicator means having a discharge portion mounted adjacentthe cylindrical sheet means in the annular chamber while the latter iscarried in said circular path by the rotary annular frame to depositvaporized metal in a series of layers on the surface of the cylindricalsheet means, said frame being sufficiently large in diameter to preventdislodgment of the deposited material when said material receiving meansis removed and attened.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 332,852Wezel Dec. 22, 1885 929,017 Reynard July 27, 1909 1,549,498 PaisseauAug. l1, 1925 1,575,926 Meurer Mar. 9, 1926 2,260,471 McLeod Oct. 28,1941 2,273,941 Dorn Feb. 24, 1942 2,391,595 Richards et al. Dec, 25,1945 (Other references on following page) Van Leer et al. Dec. 5, 195012 l Pride et a1. Apr. 24, 1951 Wishart et al. June 19, 1951 ChilowskyDec. 16, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 7, 1938

